I was feeling kinda pissed today when I found out that despite all that I did last semester, school was kicking me out of hall. Yup, school can be pretty mean. And this isn’t the first time NTU’s kicking me out of school and leaving me without a place to stay. It happened last year as well, and this year I really did my best to make sure I didn’t have to go through it again… but I guess that’s just life for you.

The thought of not having a room again kinda really sucked, but at my lowest point today I remembered that there were just two kinds of people in this world – those that complain, and those that make things happen.

It’s a pretty easy choice to decide between the two, I dare say.

I can either moan, whine and complain about my current situation and not get anywhere with it, or I could actively work towards solving my situation, and possibly learning and gaining so much more.

If there’s one quote from Dale Carnegie that I’ll always remember, it’s this – when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

When life give you lemons, make lemonade!

Every adversity, every setback you face is accompanied by an equivalent opportunity. It’s no wonder that the Chinese word for crisis, 危机, consists of two words – 危, which means danger; and 机 which means opportunity.

The Chinese word for crisis.

When I look back, this has really been a lesson that I’ve learnt time and time again. The toughest moments in my life – falling out of love, living a nomadic semester, disappointing my parents – have only served to make me stronger and wiser. There’s a lesson and a flipside to every event, you just have to see it.

Here, I’ve got one big lemon. The challenge is to make one gigantic pot of refreshing lemonade that will serve to refresh everyone. Doesn’t looking at adversity as an adventure make life so much more exciting?

Life’s an adventure, don’t waste it by looking at lemons as what they are – just lemons. Adversity can be so much more if you just let it be.